Improvement in sewing-machines



UNTTED STATES PATENT @Trina FRANCIS D. BALLOU, OF ABINGTON,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T() HIM- SELF AND J. L.`NASH.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS D. BALLOU,

`'of Abington, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machines forSewing on Boots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specilication, inwhich- Figure l represents a side elevation of that portion of thesewing-machine constituting my invention, showing in red lines a portionofthe upper, outer sole, and welt in the position to be operated vuponby the awl and needle when the shoe is inverted or the sole is uppermostin the machine. Fig. 2 is a front view of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a top viewof Figs. l and 2 with the parts in the same relative position with eachother as in the preceding figures. Fig. 4t represents` an ordinary bootor shoe. Fig. 5 is a view of the pressure-bar of Figs. 1, 2, and 3,opener, and revolving disk, showing their relative position when thesole of the shoe is down or in an opposite position to that' in Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures above referred to.

The drawings do not represent the needle nor the awl nor any of thedevices for formin g the stitch, as these several parts to be claimedmay be used with any suitable sewing mechanism for carrying waxedthread. This invention does not refer to the devices for forming anyparticular stitch, but to devices for presenting the work to the awl andneedlein a proper manner for stitching the welt to the outer sole.

This invention is also closely connected with my present patent ofJanuary 10, 1860, for making sewed boots and shoes, where the welt isstitched to the upper previously to'putting on the outer sole, then theouter sole is stitched to the welt from the outside of the shoe or bootby my present improvements, and it is for the purpose of perfecting theoperation of making stitched boots and shoes by machinery.

The object of my improvements in making stitched boots or shoes bysewing mechanism is to hold the work down on the table or bedplate ofthe machine as near the awl and needle as possible, and to keep thechannel formed on the outside of the outer sole open, so that the seamwill follow closely in this channel, that the raised lip of the channelmay be pressed down after the shoe is iinished and present aneatappearance, as if the stitching had been done by hand. It furtherprovides for stitching the shanks of the boot or shoe, in whichoperation the work can be presented to the awl and needle with greatfacility; and it provides for keeping the upper back from the needles,and for guiding the channel to receive the same through the machine, andfor sewing light and heavy, large or small work, all as will behereinafter described and represented.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand my invention, lwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

1n the drawings, A represents the bed-plate or table of the machine, thefront end of which is curved out, as represented by the drawings, Fig.3, for the purpose of bringing the work up close under the needle andawl,(which latter parts are not shown,) for stitching the Shanks of theboot or shoe from the points a to b of Fig. 4. On therounded end ot'table A is secured a curved plate,B,with a lip, c, projectin g up fromit a suitable distance, against which lip is placed the edge of theupper during the operation of sewing in Fig. 1. rlhis lip serves topress back the upper to prevent the awl or needle from coming in contactwith it. The curved plate or guard B is bent a short distanceoutfrom thecurvededgeofthetable, forniing a throat for the purpose of allowing theawl'and needle to pass freely down between this plate and table. Bychanging the plate B and using others of different thickness it isintended to use them as gages for determining the space required betweenthe upperleather and the row of stitching that is made through the weltand outer sole when the work is presented to the machine with the soleuppermost. Above this curved plate B, and held in suitable guides, is avertical rod, I), which may be acted upon by a spring, if necessary, ldiately precede the awl, so that the awl will carrying ou its lower endtwo adjustable footpieces, C G', the inner one, Gf, being straight andparallel with the rod D, and the outer one, C, is slightly bent inwardor toward that lettered G. rllhese shoes are both bent forward, asclearly shown in Fig. 2, and have their lower edges parallel with thesurface of table A. The shoe G is placed directly over the lip c oi'plate B, while the shoe C is directly over the outer edge of a revolvingdisk, E, as shown by Fig. l. These two shoes C C are intended to holdthe work down tirmly upon the movable disk E and lip c of plate B,- sothat in the upward motion of the awl and needle they will not carry thework with them. They rest on each side ofthe seam and press upon thewelt and edge of the outer sole, that projects out from the upper of theshoe. The outer shoeplate,tC, serves a twofold purpose, and besidesholding the work down it is intended to gage the work, so that the awland needle will follow in thechannel previously eut near the edge of theouter sole. It thus serves to determine the space required between theupper-leather and the row of stitching made through the welt and outersole when the shoe is presented to the machine with the sole down. Thesefoot-pieces are made adjustable for the purpose of adapting the endsthat rest on the work to the differ ence caused by the size of the welt,there being-much difference in the ,size of the welt used, and byloosening the screw d the pieces may be adjusted to suit any kind ofwork.

For diiferent-sized shoes or boots, and when the stitching varies in itsdistance from the edge of the sole or from the upper, a shoeplate C of adifferent width, must be used. The curve shown by Fig. lis given to thisplate C, so that its lower edge may be brought as close to the upper aspossible, so that the seam may have a strong hold on the welt and outersole.

In front of the shoe-plates C C', and projecting up a suitable distanceabove the disk E,upon which the outer sole rests, is a pointed bar, G.In Figs. l, 2, and 3 this. point is shown turned down; but in Fig. 5 itis shown in operation, the point of which serves to open the channelthat is previously cut round the outside and near the edge of the outersole. This point is kept in such a channel, and as the'work is fed up tothe awl and needle the channel is opened and kept open by the saidpoint, so that both the awl and needlelwill pierce the leather throughthis channel, and the stitches will be sunk or drawn tightly into thechannel, so that when the shoe is finally stitched the lip or raisedportion of the leather of the channel can be fitted down in a neat andperfect manner, as in the case of handstitched work. It will be seenthat this opener G will further serve to guide the work up to the sewingdevices. The opener should im medescend and pierce the hole through thebottom of the channel, and not to one side and then another. This openerG is used when the welt is uppermost in the machine, and when thefoot-plate G is against the upper to hold it back from the awl andneedle; but when the shoe is turned over or inverted and the sole isuppermost an opener, G', similar to G and serving the same purpose, isused. The opener G is then turned down out of the way or removed fromthe machine. The lip c of plate B then serves to hold the upper out ofthe way of the awl and needle, Fig. l, and the foot bar or rod .D holdsthe work down on the table while the awl and needle perform their work,both of which work between the foot-plates O and C. f The circular plateor revolving disk Eserves, in its relation to the above-mentioned parts,to allow the work to pass freely from the awl and needle, for, as thework must be held down hard upon the table on account of its peculiarcharacter, a fixed surface for it to pass over would cause the work todraw and twist, and it would be very difficult to control the correctline for receiving the stitch; but this revolving surface, in connectionwith the guides and opener and presser foot or plates, will greatlyfacilitate the movement of the work up to and from the awl and needle.By using these devices with the ordinary awlfeed wax-threadsewingmachine, in which a belaying double-loop stitch77 is formed, thework must be reversed in some cases, so that the single thread will bein the channel of the outer sole and the double thread or stitch on thewelt. This is done for light work.

The operation of myinvention may be brieiy described as follows: In theoperation, Fig. 5, the upper of the boot or shoe is held (commencing atthe point a, Fig. 4) against the foot O, the outer sole resting on thelip c, and the circular disk E, with the opener G, placed in the channelpreviously cut in the outer sole. The foot-plates are adjusted byscrews, so as to rest on the welt. The welt and outer sole are theirstitchedtogether in the usual man ner of sewing with the awl-feedwax-thread sewing-machine.

In operation, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the upper leather of the -boot or shoeis held (commencing at the heel at a) against the lip @,with the Weltresting on the top of this lip and the circular plate E. The ends of thefoot-plates C C are adjusted as required, restingon the outer sole ofthe shoe. The opener G is placed in the channel, as described for G',and the welt and outer solo are then stitched together in the usualmanner of operating the awt-feed sewing-machines.

Having thus described my invention and improvement in sewing-machinesfor carrying wax-ed thread,whatl claim, and. desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

- in shown and described.

V foot-pieces C C, arranged as and serving for `the purposes setforth 1. The construction of the presser D with justable foot-plates@ Cwith the curved plaie separately-adjustable foot-plates C Cf, as here-B, openers G Gf, and disk E, in the manner herein shown and described.2. The Curved bearinmplate B with its lip T i e, in combination withtube presser-bar D and FRABQIS- D' BALLOU' Witnesses:

FREEMAN l?. HOWLAND, ISAAC C. HOWLAND.

3. The arrangement of the separately-ad-

